Back to normal.....

It's back to normal if there is such a thing. There are pictures today - just wait for them!

I've already tossed four magazines from a stack left by M and it's been sitting on the floor forever. Three books on web design from 2001 are also gone. I think things may have changed a wee bit since then. That was the extent of my "cleaning" as I got home later yesterday. Let's just say that I'm very lucky I made that plane. 

I went back to have one last visit with my parents before leaving and of course, I left something at my brother's house that my Mom wanted. DRAT! We still had one last delivery to make. We did that and got to visit (very briefly) with an aunt and uncle. Back to my brother's house to get my car and the last thing and back to the apartment. Mom asked if I could help her load up those afghans that my Dad was to deliver later that day and of course, I said yes. Then I was off. 

I'm now leaving 25 minutes later than I should be. It's about 1 1/2 hour to drive to the airport and I still had to fill up the car. The speed limit is 110 so I pushed it (as I usually do) a wee bit more than that. I made it in about 1 hour 10 minutes. But it was still less than one hour before my plane departed when I hit the city limits. Thankfully the airport is right on the edge of town. I got to the gas station, but not before having to wait at two long lights. Then at the gas station, once I had filled the tank, I see the message "see cashier". Was there a problem? Nope - that's just if you want a receipt - well that took another precious minute or two as there were people in line. I'm not panicking - I'm not checking luggage and the security line is usually small. 

Drop off the car and into the security line. Backpack passes, purse passes - oh boy - the suitcase got flagged.  WHAT???  I don't really have time for this. I was down to less than 30 minutes. But technically who is going to stop me? I'm in Zone 5 for boarding which means I'm last. I see on the X-ray machine a BIG BLACK thing in my suitcase. What the heck is that? and that's exactly what the security wanted to know as well. Turns out it was the crystal (rock) that I bought for M. Hmm - at least we know that rock is SOLID! The security people are very good about digging through your stuff to find what they want instead of pulling it all out. Grabbed the suitcase and upstairs to find they haven't even started to board yet. Phew - I even managed to grab some lunch from the grab and go place and I'm ready. 

As I'm waiting for the flight this woman comes up to me as she's also in the same boarding zone. Within 30 seconds, I heard about where she was coming from. Seriously - I do NOT need to know that information, not in 30 seconds. Turns out she was sitting in the same row but in the window seat across the aisle. She proceeded to chat the ENTIRE time to the man beside her and her voice carried. I could NOT get into my book and I was tired, but couldn't really sleep. I was glad to get off the plane. I guess it was better than a crying baby, but still - could she have shut up for even 20 minutes? NOPE!!! 

The trip was a good one and my parents and I had a good chat before I left. They were frustrated, we were frustrated, but we acknowledged that it's a lot of change and I told my Mom that I was proud of her for all the "letting go" that she did. It was a stressful week but I think we're all the better for it and I have a "follow-up" trip scheduled for September. I think each successive trip will be that much easier as all the financial/funeral stuff is taken care of. The next visits will be just dealing with the material stuff which still has a lot of emotions attached. 

I did make my lists of what to do in various rooms on my way home. I'm going to try and eek out a few minutes today to make a few phone calls to get that process started. 

No time to hit the studio to do any work, so I decided to show you the few quilt purchases that I made when I was away. 

I managed to visit two quilt shops in Saskatoon - Periwinkle and this is what I got there. 

A Kaffe Fassett for collage, a heavier fabric for a bag and a bicycle print

I also bought a Sue Spargo pattern which I didn't take a picture of. 

At the other shop in Saskatoon (440 Quilt Shop), I bought this. 

Two Kaffe Fassett fabrics for upcoming collage projects

And here's the stripe that I bought for that table runner. I bought the green to go with it. .5 meter of each. 

Fabric for a table runner

But I have this piece of blue (same fabric collection as the green - Canvas by Northcott) and I think I might like the blue better. Sorry - but the camera did NOT do justice to the colors. They are much nicer than the picture shows. Anyway, will have to experiment with that over the weekend.

Maybe the blue is better?

Other than the ONE pattern, I bought only fabric (and only a wee bit) that I'll use right now. No stockpiling. I'm quite proud of myself - it's only taken 20 years (almost) to get there.

It's good to be home. We accomplished something that we've needed to for a long time and great bonding time with the family.

Today it's time to get back to work. I've got patterns to write, and quilts to design so it's going to be a busy day at the computer.

I see Lexi has something to say this morning so I'd go and check that out. That dog is crazy!

Have a great day!!!!

Ciao!!!